17-year-old Ben Austin, a club cricketer in Melbourne, passed away after he was hit on the neck during training on Tuesday.

According to local cricket officials, Ben Austin was brought to the hospital in critical condition after being struck by a ball during practice at Ferntree Gully on Tuesday. He was; he had been facing throwdowns from teammates in nets, ahead of a T20 match. He was wearing a helmet, but it did not include a stem guard.

He was placed on life support at Monash Children's Hospital but died on Thursday morning. The Ferntree Gully Cricket Club on Thursday (October 20, 2025) confirmed that Austin had died.

“We are absolutely devastated by the passing of Ben, and the impacts of his death will be felt by all in our cricket community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family... his friends and all of those who knew Ben and the joy that he brought,” the Ferntree Gully Cricket Club confirmed.

In a statement, Jace Austin, Ben's father, said, as per Cricket Australia, "We are utterly devastated by the passing of our beautiful Ben, who died earlier on Thursday morning. For Tracey and me, Ben was an adored son, a deeply loved brother to Cooper and Zach, and a shining light in the lives of our family and friends.

This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we find some comfort in that he was doing something he did for so many summers—going down to the nets with mates to play cricket. He loved cricket, and it was one of the joys of his life. We would also like to support his teammate who was bowling in the nets—this accident has impacted two young men, and our thoughts are with him and his family as well."

Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria are assisting the family and those impacted by the tragedy.

"The tragic circumstances of Ben and Ferntree Gully are...going to be felt across the country. Cricket is a sport that brings people together, communities together. It's also one that feels very deeply about an incident such as we've seen.

[It's] hard to put words on it. What we want to say is that we are doing everything we can to support the family, the club, and all those impacted by this tragic news. Clearly, there are things that we have to learn from this, but right now, we are concerned about the family and trying to support them in every way,” CA chair Mike Baird told reporters in Melbourne.

Flowers, notes, lollipops, a drink bottle, and a cricket bat were put in respect to the teenager at the club in the hours following his death. The bat was engraved with many phrases, including "rest easy, Benny" and "forever 14 not out."

(Cricket Australia inputs)